Felix Magath is giving Fulham players extra training and fewer days off in a bid to keep the club in the Premier League.
Magath, spotted cycling to work this week, has a reputation as a disciplinarian and Brede Hangeland today revealed Fulham are working harder than ever.
The Fulham captain says the sessions are more intense than they were under Martin Jol and Rene Meulensteen and feels the players are reaping dividends of the extra training.
Hangeland said: “We train substantially tougher, train more and have less free time.
“We have had fewer days off but if it works, it is great. It is quite different to what you are used to at an English club but that is his style and I am happy to do anything that works and gives us results on the pitch. If we were to train three times a day, I would not mind as long as we won at the weekend.”
Much has been made of Magath’s belief in discipline and fitness but the German manager does have a history of saving clubs from relegation.
Last week’s 1-0 win against Newcastle suggests he can keep them up but the club remain bottom of the Premier League and go into tomorrow’s game at Manchester City effecitvely five points from safety given their goal difference of minus 35.
Hangeland said: “When you are getting nothing from games it can affect your confidence but we have never doubted our ability. It was important to get some confidence in the team with the Newcastle win and, hopefully, we can kick on. We know Manchester City is one of the most difficult games of the season but we have performed well there in recent years.”
A photograph was posted on Twitter this week of Magath on a Boris Bike and the Fulham manager has revealed he is using the blue bicycles for the 14-mile round trip between his west London hotel and the club’s training ground.
“At the moment I do not have a car!” said the 60-year-old. “The distance from my hotel to the training ground is too far [to walk] so I have to take a bicycle.”
When asked whether the club could pay for a taxi for him, Magath replied: “I would rather take a bike!”
Magath refuses to be drawn on his future beyond this season if Fulham are relegated to the Championship but he remains convinced they will stay up.
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“We have developed step by step since I arrived and I was very happy with the Newcastle performance,” said Magath. “I hope that game has given us more confidence. I do not want us to only defend against City, I want us to go forward as well. But I will not say how many more points we need to stay up because I can’t influence the other results.
“I think we can defend very well and so if we make it difficult for City to score then I think we’ll get a chance to score.”
Injuries mean Kostas Mitroglou, Scott Parker, Dan Burn and Ashkan Dejagah will miss the game.
